What Does It Take to Crack the Starting Lineup?

The Giants' Victor Cruz has become the NFL's breakout receiving star so far this year. That's a neat trick, considering he's yet to start a game.

ENLARGE

New York Giants' Victor Cruz
Associated Press

Brilliance off the Bench

The most receiving yards in a three-game span by a reserve in the NFL since 1991:

PLAYER, TEAM

YEAR

RECEPTIONS

YARDS

1

Victor Cruz, Giants

2011

17

369

2

Tony Martin, Chargers

1994

18

365

3

Steve Smith, Panthers

2003

25

354

4

Willie Green, Panthers

1995

15

320

5

Gary Clark, Cardinals

1994

19

306

6

Torrance Small, Saints

1994

13

304

7

Mark Clayton, Ravens

2006

20

287

8

Dennis Northcutt, Browns

2002

16

277

9

Mike Pritchard, Broncos

1994

19

271

10

Shaun McDonald, Lions

2007

18

264

Cruz—an undrafted second-year player who had no regular-season catches before this year—has 369 receiving yards the past three weeks. That's the most for a non-starting receiver in any three-game period since 1991, according to Stats LLC.

He might not stay a reserve for long, though, given what became of other backups who put up big numbers. The receivers with totals closest to him—San Diego's Tony Martin (365) in 1994 and Carolina's Steve Smith (354) in 2003—were immediately inserted into the starting lineup. Martin, then 29, produced over 1,200 receiving yards the next season.

Smith seems like the most comparable player to the 24-year-old Cruz, as Smith was also in his age 24 season when he had his breakout. The Giants sure hope so: Smith went on to capture the rare wide-receiver triple crown in 2005 when he led the all NFL receivers in catches, yards and touchdowns.

That said, a hot streak like Cruz's is by no means a guarantee of future success. New Orleans's Torrance Small (304 yards in 1994) went on to have a 10-year career, but he never again approached that brief flash of productivity.

Eli Manning isn't treating Cruz like a third option. He's been targeted 25 times the last three weeks, just one fewer than Hakeem Nicks. Given Mario Manningham's strong 2010 season, coach Tom Coughlin may opt to feature three wideouts in the standard offense—very un-Giant like. But if not, Cruz still should continue to see plenty of looks: The Giants' struggling run game is causing plenty of passing downs, ranking 30th in rushing average.

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